President Johnson was in rare good humor as he presented General Wallace Greene, Jr.,
who retired at the end of 1967 as Commandant of the Marine Corps with a Gold Star in lieu
of a second Distinguished Service Medal. In making the presentation, the President had
some intersting things to say not only about General Greene, but about the Combined Action
Platoon (CAP) Marines.

He said,

Those Marines in I Corps -- which means Marine Country in Vietnam -- are also
testing something that is new in warfare. Combined Action Platoons protect the population
of -- about 80 villages. The Marine squads in those platoons train the villages' own
Popular Forces - and then fight beside them if necessary.

But the Marines are not just stationed in those villages. They are not just stationed
there. They live there as friends and neighbors,

Giving them medical treatment; looking after the lame and the sick and the young.

It is going to be a long time before the final results of their work can be assessed.
But the enemy has already made his judgment. Recently, the enemy, the Vietcong, offered
$1,750 - dead or alive - for the Marine sergeant of one of those platoons.

That was more money than many of the villagers would ever see in an entire lifetime.
But no one earned it -- and no one really tried to earn it. When the sergeant's tour was
up and he had to leave the village, all turned out for a farewell party for the man who
had been a friend of each one of them. That came about because of men like General Walt
and others leading them out there.

It also came about because of the Marine Corps tradition, this organization, this
espirit de corps, this excellence, and its esprit. It also came about because of General
Greene, the man who put his mark on each one of them in the organization he headed.

As a result, that village and other villages bear the mark of the Marines who have been
there. They bear the mark of the Commandant's belief that real victory is going to be won
in the hearts of the people.